During their search, they discovered some strange symbols. These symbols were carved on the walls and the ground, emitting an eerie aura. The shapes of the symbols were twisted and bizarre, resembling ancient writing, yet also resembling mysterious totems.

"What are these things?" A warrior pointed at the symbols on the wall, asking in confusion.

Xu An stepped forward, carefully observing these symbols. A light of curiosity and contemplation flickered in his eyes, and he murmured to himself, "I feel like I've seen these symbols somewhere before, but I can't quite remember..."

Shen Jingqi also leaned in, looking at these symbols, a strange sense of tension arose in his heart. He felt that a huge secret was hidden behind these symbols, and that this secret might very well be related to those strange people and the forces behind the Mechanical Giant.

"Xu An, think carefully, what exactly do these symbols represent?" Shen Jingqi asked urgently.

Xu An closed his eyes, trying hard to recall. Various images continuously floated in his mind, but he couldn't find exact information related to these symbols. Suddenly, a vague fragment flashed through his mind; he abruptly opened his eyes and said, "I remember now! These symbols are very similar to the markings of a mysterious organization I saw in a manual, but the records in that manual were very vague, so I'm not sure if this is it."

"Mysterious organization?" Shen Jingqi's eyes sharpened, "If that's really the case, then the power of this organization surely shouldn't be underestimated. We must quickly figure out their background, otherwise, we'll always be on the passive side."

As they discussed these symbols, a faint crying sound came from afar. The crying was intermittent, sounding like a child crying helplessly. Everyone's hearts tensed up; they exchanged glances, and then cautiously walked towards the direction from which the crying came.

They followed the crying and came to a basement. The door of the basement was half-open, with a dim light seeping out from inside. Shen Jingqi gently pushed the door open, and a pungent smell hit his face. He wrinkled his nose, tightened his grip on his weapon, and cautiously walked in.

The basement was filled with a damp atmosphere, with the walls covered in moss. In the corner of the basement, a child was huddled. The child's hair was messy, face covered in tear stains, and upon seeing Shen Jingqi and the others enter, a flicker of fear passed through the child's eyes but quickly turned into anticipation.

Shen Jingqi noticed that her clothes had "Shendai Attached Primary School" written on them, revealing that she was an elementary school student.

"Little one, how did you end up here?" Shen Jingqi asked softly, trying to make his voice sound as gentle as possible.

The child sobbed, "I... I was caught here by those bad people. They said they want to use me for experiments, I'm so scared..."

A pang of pain pierced Shen Jingqi's heart; he stepped forward, squatted down, patted the child's head, and said, "Don't be afraid, little one. We're here, we'll protect you. Do you know why those bad people want to capture you?"

The child shook her head and said, "I don't know. They often do weird things to me and chant words I don't understand."

Xu An, contemplating on the side, suddenly thought of something and said, "Could it be that they want to use this child for some kind of soul or energy experiment? These symbols and that mesh-like object could very well be prepared for this experiment."

Shen Jingqi nodded and said, "Very likely. This child could very well be the key to unraveling the entire mystery. Little one, can you remember anything specific those bad people did to you or any special words they said?"

The child tried to recall, after a moment, he said, "I remember they mentioned something like 'soul fusion' and 'power enhancement.' Once, they took me to a room, and there was a big machine inside, emitting a very bright light."

"Soul fusion? Power enhancement?" Shen Jingqi and Xu An glanced at each other, their hearts filled with doubt and concern. They didn't know what this so-called "soul fusion" and "power enhancement" truly meant, but they were certain it was nothing good.

"Little one, can you take us to that room?" Shen Jingqi asked.

The child hesitated for a moment, then nodded. He stood up and led Shen Jingqi and the others towards that room.

They walked along a narrow passage, the surrounding atmosphere becoming increasingly oppressive. The lights in the passage flickered unsteadily, as if they could extinguish at any moment. Suddenly, a strange noise came from the front, sounding like the roar of a machine, or perhaps the growl of some creature.

Everyone's hearts leapt into their throats, they tightened their grip on their weapons, and cautiously moved forward. When they reached the door of that room, they found the door was tightly closed. The door was covered with the same strange symbols as before, emitting a powerful energy fluctuation.

"This door seems suspicious," a warrior said, reaching out to push the door, but was stopped by Shen Jingqi.

"Don't act rashly, these symbols on the door might trigger some mechanism or trap," Shen Jingqi said.

Xu An stepped forward, carefully examining the symbols on the door. A hint of caution revealed in his eyes as he tried to find a way to open this door. After a while, he found that the arrangement of the symbols seemed to follow some sort of pattern.

"I think I've found a pattern, but I'm not sure," Xu An said.

Shen Jingqi looked at him and said, "It's okay, give it a try. We're all here, nothing will happen."

Xu An nodded, and according to the pattern he discovered, began to move the symbols on the door. As the symbols moved, the door emitted a "creak, creak" sound, as if something inside was turning.

Suddenly, the door slowly opened. A strong energy surged from within the door, so intense that they could scarcely open their eyes. Only after the energy slightly subsided did they cautiously step into the room.

The room was filled with a pungent smell, a mix of rotting metal and some unknown chemical, drilling straight into their nasal cavities, causing them to frown and gag.

At the center of the room was a gigantic machine, resembling a dormant steel beast, exuding a chilling aura. The machine flickered with multicolored lights: red like blood, blue like ice, green like ghost fire. These lights intertwined and danced in the darkness, as if the beast's evil eyes were watching everything around. Meanwhile, the machine emitted a constant buzzing sound, deep and eerie, like the demonic whispers from the depths of Hell, striking their eardrums repeatedly, causing their hearts to involuntarily race.

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